Modern coffee bars like Starbucks and Turkish counterparts like Kahve Dünyası and Mado, where a range of Western coffees are sold, are found in Istanbul’s tourist and upscale westernized districts. In most restaurants bars in the old city they have all kinds of western style coffees too.

Elsewhere in the city, the choices are much more limited. Instead of coffee Turks drink çay (tea) all day.

When it comes to coffee, there are generally two types: Nescafé and traditional Türk kahvesi (sediment coffee) served in espresso cups.

Turkish coffee is being made out of very fine grinded coffee. It isn’t processed through a filter but boiled in a tiny coffee pan. Sugar and/or milk is added before it is being boiled.

Don’t start to drink immediately after the Turkish coffee has been served. Give the sediment time to settle down in its tiny cup before you take your first sip.

Turkish coffee is being served with a glass of water. Not to swallow the sediment that has entered your mouth by accident, but to awaken and refresh your taste buds so that you can enjoy the coffee much better. Turks consider their coffee as a delicacy, not as something you drink all day. So many Turks drink it after an extensive dinner with family or friends.

The last couple of years pavement cafes have started to serve Turkish coffee as well and it has become a new trend to drink Turkish coffee during the day without waiting for dinner.

In 2013 Turkish coffee has been added to Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage list. Turkish National Commission for Unesco Chairman Professor Öcal Oğuz stressed that Turkish coffee was more than just a drink, stating that “it is known as ‘Turkish coffee’ all around the world not only because of its commodity, but also because of its style, preparation method and traditional presentation.”

Part of the Turkish coffee culture is to ‘read’ your future from the sediment after you have finished your coffee. They turn their cup upside down, wait till its bottom is cold and then ‘read’ the pattern of the sediment. Really fun to do!

Check out this video about the Turkish coffee culture and traditions.

You can read as well this interesting newspaper article about the history of coffee in the Ottoman Empire

Lots of tourists want to relax in a swimming pool after a busy and tiring day of sight-seeing in Istanbul.

So which hotels are equipped with a swimming pool?

I found several in the touristic heart of Istanbul, in the district Sultanahmet with the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi palace, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Hippodrome, Basilica Cistern en much more.

Here is my list of recommended hotels with a swimming pool.

Do you know any other good ones or do you want to share your experiences about them, leave your reaction here. Thanks.

You can order your copy of Walking in Istanbul by Marc Guilllet via the Enjoy Istanbul website or direct from http://www.odyssee-reisgidsen.nl/magento/wandelen-en-fietsen/wal.html?___store=en&___from_store=nl

]]>https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/hotels/hotels-with-swimming-pools-in-sultanahmet-district/feed/3Bomontiada: live music, food, art, drinkshttps://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/nightlife/bomontiada-live-music-food-art-drinks/
https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/nightlife/bomontiada-live-music-food-art-drinks/#respondSun, 24 Jun 2018 15:56:27 +0000http://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/?p=3544Read more »]]>It was a Friday night and the kick off of the 27th Akbank Jazz Festival in Istanbul. As a group of fresh-out-of-university people we were looking forward to enjoy Ilhan Ersahin’s tunes. (https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aweKNLI0ZyI48q5TmoCxT) They combine electronic music with saxophone and sounds from the Middle East. (I recommend you continue reading with Ilhan Ersahin playing in the background).

Around 10 pm the yard of Bomontiada was full with people, drinking, chatting. Some started to dance. At the entrance to Babylon, a popular concert venue where Ilhan Ersahin was going to play, many people were waiting to get in. After a nice and fun concert, we left Bomontiada. Its yard had become more crowded with people dancing despite the rain. The night ended with a nice and tranquil walk back home with Ersahin’s rhythm on my mind.

Bomontiada is definitely a place to visit, if you live in Istanbul or if you are a visitor who wants to go off the beaten path and wants to mix with the locals.

This Ottoman beer brewery got a new life and serves as a cultural hub for Istanbulites since the summer of 2015. It is located in Feriköy, Şişli, in the past home to Greek, Armenian and other non-Muslim communities.

Bomonti, which gave its name to the neighbourhood, was the first beer factory founded in a predominantly Muslim country. In 1890 the Swiss Bomonti brothers started to produce their Bomonti Birası (beer). Its name lives on as one of the brands of Turkey’s largest beer producer Efes Pilsen.

The Turkish state took over the factory in the 1930s and it ceased to produce beer in 1991. Bomonti beer had played an important role in spreading the beer culture in Turkey by establishing beer gardens in and outside of Istanbul.

The hood transformed after most Greeks and Armenians left, but maintained its cosmopolitan nature. Recently it has seen a revival and has become more popular with the hipsters after the opening of Bomontiada and other venues around.

One can chill in Bomontiada, isolated from the noise and chaos of Istanbul. The large yard is serving as a home to many facilities and events. If you seek for crafted tastes, try Kiva, a meyhane where you can enjoy Turkish cuisine with a modern touch and rakı.

In The Populist you can enjoy craft beers and DJ performances at night. Klimanjaro has a popular menu of world cuisine and creative cocktails. You may also experience the cosy yard while sipping your drink in Monochrome, a nice place with a brasserie concept. In Delimonti, which is a marketplace and a restaurant, you can find the traditional tastes from Anatolia.

Aside from Babylon, where you can enjoy concerts by both local and international artists several days a week, there are other venues for enjoying culture and arts. ALT is an arts and dialogue space where young creators from all over the region meet and exhibit their work. In Leica Gallery, you will find photographs of local and international artists. Apart from these, Atölye serves as an innovation and creative hub for individuals and start-ups from different disciplines. My favourite time is summer when you can chill the long nights at the yard, with movie screenings, jazz concerts, performances or simply for a nice chat with friends.

For a cool night out during your trip, or if you want to experience Istanbul as a local, or simply for an adventure in the backstreets of multicultural Istanbul, I strongly recommend you to visit Bomontiada. If you are lucky you may even listen to Ilhan Ersahin as well.

I am sure that the atmosphere of this former Ottoman beer brewery will have a place in your memory of Istanbul (hopefully with Ersahin’s rhythm on your mind).

This Feriköy hood is worth a visit for many other reasons too, but that is a topic of another post.

Whenever you stroll through the district of the Covered Bazaar and the Egyptian or Spice Bazaar you probably will see human pack mules with all sorts of cargo on their backs.

Bent over, groaning under their unimaginable huge burdens, they trudge through the streets, up the hills, and even up the stairs in the wholesale houses – the traditional Turkish ‘hans’ where they deliver the goods. Their loads range from carpets to refrigerators, and boxes with bicycle parts to furniture.

These men are dirt poor. They work six days a week, long hours and in groups, usually from the region they came from. They have a leader who collects all the money and at the end of the day he divides it equally among the men. If one needs a back surgery, they collect money among each other until there is enough money to pay the surgeon.

‘Hamal’ (porter) is the name of their profession; from the Arabic verb ‘hamala’ (to carry). It is done in several Muslim countries and is the second oldest profession in this city. The saddles on their backs are made by themselves. I have great respect for these guys (aged 18-70), who work in a way that hasn’t changed for thousands of years.

In his autobiography Istanbul. Memoirs and the City Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk writes about these men too. “During my childhood we were all uneasy when European tourists photographed the fearsome hamals I’d see crossing the Galata Bridge with tin piled high on their backs, but when an Istanbul photographer like Hilmi Sahenk chose the same subject , no one minded in the least.” (p. 235). And “The hamals and their burdens, noted by so many travelers of the republican period – like the old American cars that Brodsky noted – were no sooner described by foreigners than they vanished.” (p. 234).

It is obvious that Pamuk is not in a position anymore to stroll through the backstreets of Istanbul anonymously, as he did in the old days. He is too well known as Nobel laureate. Otherwise he would have noticed that the second oldest profession of Istanbul is still alive and kicking in the bazaar district. But their numbers are dwindling. And sooner rather than later Pamuk will be right, and we will no longer see the hamals of Istanbul.

So stroll through the backstreets of this district with my self-guided walks and you will discover them and many more other people, buildings, street food. and the stories behind them.

]]>https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/city-life/human-pack-mules-of-istanbul/feed/0Oldest graffiti artist adores Atatürkhttps://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/walking-2/oldest-graffiti-artist-of-istanbul/
https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/walking-2/oldest-graffiti-artist-of-istanbul/#commentsTue, 05 Jun 2018 00:52:39 +0000http://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/?p=2668Read more »]]>You will find his work on many walls in Istanbul. On the European as well as on the Asian shores of the Bosporus. I saw him once around 11 PM drawing on exactly this spot in Kadıköy, where the Roma women are selling their flowers.

He is retired and in his 70ties. He draws always the same portrait: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary leader, and the first President of Turkey. He also abolished the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman sultans and he is the founder of the Republic of Turkey, that is celebrated today as the Cumhuriyet Bayramı (Republican holiday).

The oldest graffiti artist of Istanbul adores Atatürk and his dream of a secular, modern and western Turkey.

His portraits have a political message as well: they are his way of protesting against the policies of the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Many admirers of Atatürk say the way of life he enshrined and his secular principles are at peril under the current government. Their grievances include the conversion of secular high schools into religious ones – imam hatip vocational schools – imposing religion on students, spread of Islamic headscarves in public offices, and a sectarian, Sunni inspired foreign policy.

]]>https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/walking-2/oldest-graffiti-artist-of-istanbul/feed/1Hagia Sophia in top 10 of most beautiful buildingshttps://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/history/hagia-sophia-in-top-10-of-most-beautiful-buildings/
https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/history/hagia-sophia-in-top-10-of-most-beautiful-buildings/#respondWed, 23 May 2018 00:47:19 +0000http://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/?p=1768Read more »]]>

Hagia Sophia. Photo: Slawomira Kozieniec

The Lonely Planet website has chosen Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia in its list of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Hagia Sophia “is the great architectural landmark at the heart of Istanbul, with its four minarets poised like moon-bound rockets,” the website said.

Constructed in the 6th century A.D. as an Orthodox church, Hagia Sophia became a mosque in 1453 after sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinopel, and since 1935 has been a museum. The base of the building’s dome is ringed by windows, so that from within the structure the dome seems to hover ethereally above the building.

Hagia Sophia Museum remained Turkey’s most visited tourist attraction in 2015, according to data released by the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

In 2015, 3.47 million people visited the Hagia Sophia. It was also the most visited site in Turkey in 2014.

]]>https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/history/hagia-sophia-in-top-10-of-most-beautiful-buildings/feed/0Tips for women who travel solo to Istanbulhttps://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/tourism-2/tips-for-women-who-travel-solo-to-istanbul/
https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/tourism-2/tips-for-women-who-travel-solo-to-istanbul/#commentsTue, 22 May 2018 00:34:02 +0000http://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/?p=2568Read more »]]>No Single Woman Traveler Ever Should Feel Lonely in Istanbul

Photos: Slawomira Kozieniec

Are you a female solo traveler heading to Istanbul? Don’t worry. Istanbul will take care of you like no place else – and that is regardless of how much money you have in your pocket!

I traveled alone all my life – except for the last couple of years – and honestly I don’t like to travel solo very much. I know how depressing it gets if you don’t have someone to turn and talk to when you see something amazing or disgusting. I also know how sad it may be not to have someone to make a selfie with – even against this someone’s will at times…

But say you ended up in Istanbul somehow and you need to spend time in the mega-city on your own. With or without a selfie stick, Istanbul is one of those places where every picture you share on Instagram would become an instant hit to get you through the day. Actually you may even be grateful that there is none complaining about you playing with your phone all the time!

So what can you do alone to share lots of cool pictures or better yet catch the vibe on the lively Istanbul streets to feel alive; Do you feel like stretching your legs or chilling somewhere wonderful to get your spirits high? Wanna give a zest to your brain? Would you care for some earthly pleasures? I have just the itinerary for you…

Start your day with a fulfilling breakfast in Istanbul’s most arty neighbourhood, Karaköy, close to the Galata Bridge. Make sure to sit outside to watch these worn down and yet very cool streets come to life by the minute. Karaköy is full of little stylish “independent” (no Starbucks or Cafe Nero indeed…) European/Turkish cafes as well as very cool art galleries and classical Turkish small-shops where you’ll still be able to observe without lots of tourists around you, and maybe treat yourself to a traditional Turkish handcraft or delight. Nothing about what Karaköy has to offer is boring – at least for now.

Just to flag; even if you make it in Karaköy around 9 AM for breakfast and coffee, I bet you would not feel ready to leave the area before 11AM in the best case scenario.

That is to say at around noon you should start heading toward Galata Bridge to cross-over to the old peninsula. Make sure to take in the mystique old Istanbul view as you walk across the bridge over the Golden Horn to Eminönü.

This historic hood is the eternal and timeless heart of trade in Istanbul. Anything you see on the shelves almost anywhere in the world can be found in Eminönü’s ancient narrow streets. (Yes, even wooden animal figures from Africa, original samurai swords from Japan, spices you would see in ‘Travel to India’ promotion videos).

Here, one route you can follow is to walk through the Spice Bazaar, and up the hill through some narrow shopping streets towards the Grand Bazaar and from there to Sultanahmet Square. The things you will see, buy and experience on this route is directly proportional to your character and the strength of your eye-sight. You may be a generally interested and friendly person by nature and in that case I would assume that you finish this route in 3 – 4 hours.

Being very interested in everything and everyone means that you’ll have at least 50 shots of tea with at least 15 merchants of different trade and talk about their lives before you decide to buy anything… When you consider the number of things on offer in this area – glistering jewels, handcrafted silverware, hand painted ceramic ornaments, traditional clothing, leather accessories, bags, watches, antiques, souvenirs and what not – if you stopped to take a look at even 1% of the things you find on your way (let alone embarking on the serious business of comparing prices) I can only hope for you to find your way out before Grand Bazaar closes. (Open: Monday to Saturday 9:00 – 19:00. Closed on Sundays and bank holidays)

Let’s say you are out at around 4 PM, you will be hungry! Even if you are not, smelling famous “Sultanahmet meatballs” (Sultanahmet Köftesi) will make you feel so. Ten years ago I had a favorite restaurant to recommend but today – to be honest – I feel that all of these meatball places are the same. So at this point if you feel like it, you should find the cleanest looking and most crowded “Sultanahmet Köftecisi” and treat yourself to one of Istanbul’s all time classics.

After a meatball break, below is a list of Istanbul landmarks you may want to have a look at. Mind you, it will be tight to cover even one of these places properly considering the time that will be left before they close:

If you are more interested in history than cultural experiences you may want to work this route backwards by taking the tram from Karaköy to Sultanahmet, covering these landmarks and walking downhill through Grand Bazaar to Spice Bazaar and end up in Eminönü Square next to the Galata Bridge.

Table for One

This is a tricky one and I do not want to limit your options by tying in the above itinerary with a near-by restaurant. I think you should take a cab and go to one of the below places if you would like to enjoy nice food on a table for one.

The great thing about Istanbul is that it is a city very much like the famed Aladdin’s lamp. Whenever you rub it, where ever you rub, a genie would come out to grant you whatever your heart or soul desires. So relax, take a deep breath, forget about yourself, go where your mind wanders to and really “live” Istanbul for a day or two.

Is Istanbul safe for women to travel alone?

According to a number of already-available statistics and surveys, Istanbul is one of the safest big cities in Europe for women to travel alone. However as a general warning I would suggest that you stay in the touristic areas, avoid alleys and empty neighborhoods.

Also please don’t follow any nice gentleman to a private party or a club “where other tourists like you, are having fun”. This is unfortunately a very common scam and in most cases these stories end up with people paying a lot of money – if not all of it – for the drinks that they thought they were ordered.

Enjoy!

RanaBabaç

]]>https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/tourism-2/tips-for-women-who-travel-solo-to-istanbul/feed/14Beware of the shoeshine trick!https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/walking-2/beware-of-the-shoe-shine-trick/
https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/walking-2/beware-of-the-shoe-shine-trick/#respondFri, 18 May 2018 00:41:50 +0000http://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/?p=2593Read more »]]>Just ignore any shoe shine man of boy who ‘accidentally’ drops his shoeshine brush. It is a classic trick to get your attention. Many will feel the urge of warning the poor man and he will put you under pressure tho shine your shoes.

]]>https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/walking-2/beware-of-the-shoe-shine-trick/feed/0Discover Viktor Levi, Wine House since 1914https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/nightlife/wine-house-since-1914-viktor-levi/
https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/nightlife/wine-house-since-1914-viktor-levi/#commentsTue, 08 May 2018 00:47:56 +0000http://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/?p=2473Read more »]]>When visiting Istanbul you definitely should check out the Asian side of the city as well. Kadıköy is my favourite district. It is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan part of Istanbul, on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara, facing the historic city centre on the European side of the Bosporus. It is the cultural heart of the Asian (Anatolian, Turks say) part of the city, with lots of youth culture, an opera building, live music, clubs and restaurants.

I particularly like the eatery that is situated in the Moda (Turkish for ‘modern’) hood, in an Ottoman, partly wooden, building. It is a former Greek mansion and was used for a long time as a private clinic, mainly a maternity ward, assisting women during childbirth and caring for them and their newborn infants until they are released to go home. According to the 1882 census non-Muslim minorities were the majority in Kadıköy in those days. Of the population of 7,000 26 percent were Greek, 26 percent Armenian, 4 percent Jewish and 42 percent Muslim.

The name of the restaurant is Viktor Levi Wine House 1914. It is one of the oldest surviving wine houses – saraphanesi – in town, although not in its original location. Viktor Levi is a special place to enjoy lunch or dinner with a selection of wines (local and imported). They have a lovely garden too for 200 people. The big garden is the most popular place of the restaurant as many of the guests want to smoke.

The place is named after Jewish journalist, publisher and wine entrepreneur Viktor Levi who published the papers La Patria (Country, 1908–1909) and La Boz (The Voice, 1908–1910) in Judeo Spanish, as most of the Jews in Istanbul arrived from Spain in 1492. Sultan Bayezid II had sent ships to save the Sephardic Jews of Spain from the Catholic Inquisition and granted them permission to settle in the Ottoman Empire.

Viktor Levi started as a salesman of sardines and grapes. Buying on Bozcaada island and selling on the markets in Istanbul. As soon as he turned his attention to the wine business, he realized that the profit margin on wines was much higher than on sardines and grapes.

Levi decided to open his own wine house in 1914, first in Galata and later in the Hamalbaşı street next to the British embassy on the European side of town.

Viktor Levi died in 1967. His cousin Yasef Levi took over the wine business and wine house until he left for America in 1985. Up to 1999 the bar was exploited as an ordinary pub. New Turkish owners renovated it and it was reopened in 2000 in its former nostalgic atmosphere of nearly a century ago.

That wine bar, and the other historic wine house Pano, founded by Panayot Papadopoulos in 1898, were damaged by the suicide truck bomb attack in November 2003 by al-Qaeda against the British involvement of the American military invasion of Iraq. Consul-General Roger short was among the 17 killed at the consulate. It was less than a week after suicide bomb attacks against two synangoges – Bet Israel and Neve Shalom – in which 27 people died, six of them Jews.

Viktor Levi wine house closed its doors in the summer of 2011. The older Pano wine House on the corner did the same that year and relocated to one of the streets next to Taksim Square. Viktor Levi set up shop in Moda. They opened in 2004 in Moda, in the Damacı Sokak (street).

The closing down of two of the oldest wine houses in the Beyoglu district were signs that this historic entertainment hood with is active nightlife started to lose its attraction due to gentrification, increased security risks because of terrorist attacks, new anti alcohol regulations, high increases of entertainment and consumption taxes. As historic businesses left the district and an increasing number of shops close their doors, nightlife and entertainment have moved from Beyoglu and Taksim to Kadıköy on the Asian side. That is now the place where the young, hip and cool crowd chill.

Viktor Levi represents history in this trendy hood. It has a special atmosphere and is frequented mostly by Turks who are ardent admirers of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a former Ottoman army officer, reformist statesman, and the first President of Turkey.

The music is Greek, Spanish, French, Italian, jazz and western pop. The photos and decorations are an eclectic mix of Christian, communist and Kemalist republican icons. Photos of Atatürk, of Uğur Mumcu, an investigative reporter at the Kemalist newspaper Cumhuriyet who was assassinated in 1993. A photo of celebrated communist poet Nâzım Hikmet who fled from authoritarian Kemalism in Turkey to the Soviet Union as a 19-year old. A photo and a poem of communist writer, humorist and political activist Aziz Nesin, who also was a critic on Islam, and began in early 1990s a translation of Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel, The Satanic Verses. An angry Muslim mob nearly lynched him because of it. On one of the walls is – no surprise – a poem by Persian Sufi mystic, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet Omar Khayyam on the pleasures of drinking wine with friends. And a large painting inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’, one of the world’s most famous religious paintings in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. What they all had in common? They loved wine and other alcoholic drinks.

It is always a pleasure to enjoy wine and food with friends at Viktor Levi. The only thing I really miss is a photo of Viktor Levi.

]]>https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/nightlife/wine-house-since-1914-viktor-levi/feed/1Turkish is easy!https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/city-life/turkish-is-easy/
https://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/city-life/turkish-is-easy/#commentsSun, 15 Apr 2018 00:56:27 +0000http://www.enjoy-istanbul.com/?p=2463Read more »]]>Reading and speaking Turkish is easy: all words are written and pronounced phonetically. Even if you don’t know what the words mean, you can still pronounce them without any mistake, after learning the pronunciation of the letters. I will teach you in 15 minutes!

Until 1928, Ottoman Turkish – the language of the educated few (5 percent) – was written in the Arabic script, which was inadequate to convey sounds in Turkish. Thanks to the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of Turkey, the Latin alphabet was introduced and the Arabic script was outlawed from public life.

To know how to pronounce the Turkish letters you have to know in what way they are different.

‘C’ as in George. ‘Ç’ as check. ‘G’ as goat. The ‘Ğ’ is silent and lengthens the preceding consonant. The ‘ı’ is an ‘i’ without a dot, and sounds like the ‘u’ in radium. ‘I’ is always pronounced ‘ee’, so the city’s name is pronounced Eestanbul. The ‘i’ sound, as in ‘lick’ does not exist in Turkish.

Pronounce ‘j’ as in French jardin, or like the ‘s’ in leisure; ‘ö’ as in German König or French ‘eu’ in deux; ‘ş’ as in shine, ‘u’ as in pull, ‘ü’ as in German Führer; ‘v’ as in wagon, and ‘y’ as in yoghurt.

As I said Turkish is written as it is pronounced, including ‘Turkified’ foreign loan words like penti (pantyhose), şarküteri (charcutier or delicatessen) and tuvalet (toilet). It is easy to see the logic here. Take the last word, ‘tuvalet’, for example. The ‘u’ is pronounced as in ‘pull’ and the ‘v’ is pronounced like a ‘w’, so the word is pronounced ‘tuwalet’. If you say this quickly, it resembles the French pronunciation of ‘toilet’.

Turkish doesn’t have the letters ‘q’, ‘w’ and ‘x’. Turkish doesn’t need these so-called Kurdish letters (as they are part of the Kurdish alphabet), because Turkisg has already letters that sound like these three letters. Q sounds like ‘k’. The letter ‘v’ is pronounced as ‘w’. And for the sound ‘x’ they use the letter combination ‘ks’, like in taksi.

In the 20’s and 30’s a campaign was launched by the state to rid the language of the numerous loanwords, mostly of Arabic and French, but also Persian, Greek, and Italian origin, and to replace them by ‘genuine Turkish’ words, some resurrected from old texts, some imported from other Turkic languages, some constructed on the analogy of existing words, but a great many simply taken into the written language from the spoken language. The aim was to ‘purify’ the language from all foreign words and to make it ‘pure Turkish’ (Öz Türkçe).

Although many of these foreign loanwords were erased, many are still in the language, and an increasing number is from English.

FunEasyLearn is the easy and fun new way to learn Turkish – whether you like listening music from other countries, travelling abroad, working for an international company, or chatting with foreign friends. Our app encourages your kids to learn speaking Turkish quickly.